In terms of teaching college, what does 4/4 and 5/5 mean?

Question

I have been lurking on some higher ed message boards, and a lot of the profs, when they talk about course load talk about "4/4" and "5/5". I asked a friend who is a full time prof, and he's mystified.

Anyone know what it means?

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

I'd guess 4/4 means 4 courses first semester, 4 courses second semester. It would depend on what type of college it is though... if it's one where profs focus on teaching, that amount of courses would be about right. If it's a big research university, teaching fewer courses per semester is more typical.